Category: Successful Business

In 1909, Otto Kolschowsky opened a little butcher shop and retail meat market in Oak Park, Chicago. As one of many German immigrants settling in Chicago, Kolschowsky wanted to serve his community. At the time, Chicago was a hub for immigrant influences, as many stopped off in Chicago before heading further west to establish farms.

Within ten years of arriving in the United States, Kolschowsky built a regional success. After World War I, Kolschowsky moved his operations to Maywood. To make his company more pronounceable for other Americans, like many family-based, immigrant businesses, he renamed his company.

Otto & Sons included his children, Arthur and Harry, who would take to the company to new heights. During the 50s, the sons met with Ray Kroc, a franchise agent from California. Kroc wanted to open a new kind of restaurant that built upon the traditional concept of a family restaurant.

Before opening his first chain restaurant, Kroc made a deal with the sons that they’d provide his business with fresh ground beef. The sons had no idea what they signed for but soon realized the potential Kroc’s restaurant would be. In 1955, the first McDonald’s opened its doors, and a legend was born.

OSI Food Solutions Spain recently spent £17 million in it’s existing Toledo plant by adding high capacity chicken products unit which has doubled the production from twelve thousand tons to twenty-four thousand tons per year. The company’s Managing Director, José María del Río said that the rising demand for chicken products in Spain and Portugal triggered the process, which ended at the beginning of this year.

He added that the demand for chicken products rose by more than an average of 8% annually since 2015 only and by over 6% annually for the last ten years. He was optimistic that the continued rise in demand would continue and was quick to add that the company was ready to cope with it. The latest expansion boosted the overall production of chicken, pork and beef products to over 45,000 tons and created twenty more jobs to the existing one hundred and forty.

The process involved the addition of 22,600 square foot building, which consisted of shipping and receiving section, raw material storage area, state of the art production hall, and waste container storage refrigeration room. Other facilities in the new line included oil service areas, nitrogen tanks, hot water storage tanks, and employees’ social area. One unique development that OSI Food Solutions did was to add a development kitchen with a quality control manager run it in the new line. The motive was to improve the quality according to the changing demand from the customers and clients.

The OSI Food Solutions President and Chief Operations Officer, David McDonald said the new development would allow the company to add new products in line with the growth in the retail market and demand for new food service from its customers. He said that the company is happy with the new development because not only did it satisfy its customers but also created more jobs. The President was also happy with the latest security system and safety equipment that was installed in the plant. OSI Food Solutions Company installed indoor cameras and perimeter surveillance system around the facility for maximum security. To enhance high standard safety measures, the company installed advanced firefighting equipment.